Reaction Shots
by EvilFuzzy9
Summary: New Year's Eve has come and gone. 2012 is upon us. And a certain duo's rather physical confession has shocked the party. Midnight Kisses' sequel. 'T' for references to underage drinking and a touch of limey content. Interconnected "Shots" tell a tale...?
1. Nagi, or Hayate no Baka

**Reaction Shots**

or

**RE: Midnight Kisses**

A _Hayate the Combat Butler _Fanfic

By

EvilFuzzy9

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><p>"Our duty, as men and women, is to proceed as if limits to our ability did not exist." – Fortune Cookie<p>

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><p><strong>AN: I'd just like to thank TehSanity for inspiring this with his/her/their review to Midnight Kisses, the fic of which this is a sequel.**

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><p><strong>Chapter the First, Nagi <strong>

**(a.k.a., "Hayate no Baka")**

_**"HAPPY NEW YEARS!"**_

Those words heralded the beginning of a new year, and the end of an old one. The birth of one romance, and the death of some people, it was a joyous occasion. But for a select unfortunate few, it was like the world was collapsing around them.

To one person in particular, that midnight was the most dreadful midnight to ever come to pass. It was a horrible thing, a tragedy of epic proportions. To her, it seemed like everything was happening in slow motion. Time was moving like molasses on a cold winter night as her world once more fell to pieces.

This unfortunate person, one Nagi Sanzen'in, could only watch in horror, transfixed, as she saw it unfolding. It was like watching a train wreck – she could not bear seeing it happen, yet at the same time she could not bring herself to wrench her gaze from that most awful sight.

"No..." she whispered, eyes wide and glassy, unwilling to believe what she was seeing. "Hayate... no... Don't leave me..." she whimpered as she watched her butler–and not-so-secret-crush–grabbing Hinagiku and Nishizawa's asses, clumsily kneading soft, yielding fat and firm, shapely muscle beneath their dresses like so much dough. "... Hayate, you dummy..."she whimpered.

Her gut was being wrenched at the sight. Her intestines were doing contortions and her stomach somersaults. Her heart was in her throat one second, and in the pit of her abdomen the next. Her mind was racing a million miles an hour straight towards the middle of nowhere as incoherent impressions of powerful, conflicting emotions tumbled through her skull like pocket change through a washing machine. She was shivering, it seemed... and were those tears falling from her eyes?

How shameful. An utter disgrace to the Sanzen'in name.

An utter, worthless disgrace... A wretched waif deserving nothing, or so God above seemed to believe. She was, in that moment, perhaps the most piteous thing upon the face of the earth.

She clutched her chest, as if yearning to tear out her heart and crush it literally beneath her heel, to go with the figurative breaking it had just received. She was drowning in despair, right then and there. She was dead inside, wishing she could become dead to the world again, if only to shut out all this pain.

What a dreadful state of affairs.

She growled. There, in her gut, born amidst the seemingly cataclysmic turmoil of her emotions, was now planted a seed of anger. In that sea of despair which was drowning her heart, she grabbed onto that emotion like a lifeline.

Heat bloomed, spreading through her body as she nurtured this frustration and jealousy. It gave her strength where before there was weakness. It let her walk where before she had to crawl. Anger was her crutch. She knew it was unhealthy, but damn it all it just _felt so right._

Virulent, caustic envy. Fiery, burning fury. Frigid, oppressive hatred. Despair, fermented, became anger. Anger, focused, became hate. And hate, refined, became strength. A black, accursed strength, to be sure, which ate at one's soul and corroded one's morals–a thirsty, wailing Muramasa blade which cuts master as surely as foe–but it was strength nonetheless. And this strength drove her.

She snarled.

"Hayate..." she started, her tone dark and her eyes shining balefully.

"Hayate..." she uttered, speaking the name like it was something perfectly loathsome which left a most vile taste on her tongue.

She clenched her fists and grit her teeth. Her lips were curled and her eyes narrowed, her nostrils flared and her ears red. There was fire in her gaze, and her voice was as booming dragon-thunder.

_"HAYATE YOU DUMMY!"_ she roared, her voice shrill yet booming with such strength that it was a wonder her petite frame could survive the dreadful, crashing reverberations. Into those words she poured all of her anger, all of her hate, and all of her sorrow. Through that noisy, noisome exclamation, every last ounce of her passion and her emotion spilled out until nothing was left but tears and regret.

With a stifled sob, the young blonde ran off, followed shortly after by a flustered Maria.

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><p><strong>AN: Long author's note is long. :/ Just 300 words shorter than the actual fic part...  
><strong>

**I started working on this last week. I typed up everything from the title to the "Chapter the First" part before suddenly getting called in to work at the Hong Kong Restaurant and Buffet to cover for Justin, one of the other dishwashers, who hadn't shown up (incidentally, this was not even half an hour after getting home from eating at the restaurant with my parents, my youngest brother, and my grandmother, the last of whom was staying in town for the week). The temperature outside was below zero, counting windchill, it was seven o'clock, and I have/had no driver's license. **

**So I called a cab. The ride itself was uneventful, and the final cost was $6.25. I paid seven, because I did not believe that I had any change on my person at that time.**

**I went into the restaurant, punched in, and went to grab an apron when, lo and behold, Justin walks in through the back door. Seeing this, I went and punched right back out. I was on the clock for all of two minutes.**

**I called a cab to go back home, and I ended up getting the same guy who drove me up. He took one look at me, and asked if I'd simply been going to pick up an order or something. I said no, and explained that I'd been called into work to cover for someone who ended up showing up anyways. He said something along the lines of "Ah, that's unfortunate," and drove me back home. Thankfully, he decided to consider it a round trip, which would cost nine dollars, so I only had to give him two more.**

**Finally, I got back home at seven thirty, went right to my laptop, and typed up this anecdote into this A/N.**

**It's interesting how these things'll go sometimes, eh?**

**As a side note, the fortune cookie quote at the start of the chapter is actually from the very fortune cookie I got after eating at the restaurant earlier that day.**

**Also, this Reaction Shot turned out rather bleaker and darker than I'd originally intended, but ehhh. What's done is done, I suppose... The next one (my muses willing) will probably be more lighthearted.**

**TTFN and R&R!**


	2. Maria, or Ohhh, That's Not Good

**Reaction Shots**

or

**RE: Midnight Kisses**

A _Hayate the Combat Butler _Fanfic

By

EvilFuzzy9

* * *

><p>"Dare to dream, hope, believe, seek, feel, find, and love." – Another Fortune Cookie<p>

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><p><strong>AN: Bleh, it took me a while to get any real work done on this, but to be fair my laptop had been pretty much running on a wing and a prayer for a while there (and it still crashes, occasionally) and I've also been somewhat busy with other fics (ID, most notably) and **_**Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep**_**, then **_**Final Fantasy VII**_** (got it on my PSP via PSN a couple weeks ago, and I have already clocked in over fifty hours playing for the first time, all told, and am still only part way through the second disc). But I've been on a roll, recently, with writing, so I decided to finish this up.**

**Content Warning: This chapter contains references to drunk minors as well as heavily incoherent, badly plotted drunk-talk from a certain maid (probably not who you're thinking, though).**

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><p><strong>Chapter the Second, Maria <strong>

**(a.k.a., "Ohhh, That's Not Good...")**

"... 'n' den 'e shaid to me, 'e shaid, _'What'choo talkin' 'bout, Shaki?_'" slurred Miss Kijima herself as she recounted an anecdote to her friend and long-time colleague Maria. Her cheeks were flushed a vivid scarlet, and her eyelids were drooping further with every passing moment even as she chortled drunkenly at the memory, her earlier melancholy forgotten as she talked to (or rather, _at_) the other maid.

The moment the party had begun, her charge and master, Wataru Tachibana, had brushed her off to go visit with his crush-slash-acquaintance Isumi Saginomiya, and Saki had been standing by the punch bowl ever since, drinking like a fish for lack of anything better to do. Or at least, she HAD been. But then Maria had shown up escorting Nagi, and the verdette maid had quickly gravitated towards her friend, rather... _eagerly_... greeting her with a flying glomp and an intoxicated "Squee!".

Maria, for her part, had quickly recovered from Saki's overenthusiastic salutations, giving her a polite "Hello," and walking off to grab a glass of punch for herself before rejoining the other girl and proceeding to drift, seemingly aimlessly, through the room with her.

Ostensibly, she was socializing with the other maid. But in reality Maria was more concerned with keeping an eye on Nagi than listening to her friend rambling on about her totally-not-a-crush-because-he's-just-a-boy-and-my-employer-to-boot-so-that-would-be-both-unethical-and-sort-of-creepy. _Riiiight._

Nodding absentmindedly, Maria replied with a vacant "Really? You don't say," as she continued to shadow her asocial mistress. She frowned slightly as she realized that Nagi was, herself, shadowing someone else. Namely, Hayate.

Her frown deepened when she noticed the young blonde's inexpertly concealed look of lovesickness. That was double plus ungood.

_'Nagi... This infatuation of yours... I'd daresay it feels like it's becoming almost __unhealthy__...'_ the brunette mused melancholically. _'Nagi... He simply cannot return your affections. Not yet, at any rate. You're still young... Don't tie yourself to him so tightly, and so quickly, or else you may find the red string of fate to be at your neck like a hangman's noose...'_

She sighed quietly, these thoughts awakening memories best forgotten of youthful heartbreak and disappointment. _'Don't grow up so fast, Nagi... Savor what freedom you still have while you still can.'_ She shook her head softly. "And things will only get harder for you from here..." she murmured morosely.

"... 'n' den, dere wash dat time I cot 'im tryin' on wunna my bras..." Saki babbled happily, the spirits clouding the normally rather keen powers of perception she possessed when it came to the mood of her adorable junior.

"Mmm," Maria hummed quietly, watching with interest as Nagi suddenly started walking towards Hayate. "That's nice..." she mumbled insincerely, almost imperceptibly furrowing her brow at the sight of Hinagiku and Ayumu crashing into the younger girl.

When she saw where they were headed, she sighed. She had a feeling she knew what was about to happen...

It was a blur, what came next. Hinagiku and Ayumu jumping Hayate, all but outright molesting him as the timer counted down to the new year.

Feeling a hint of bitterness rising in her bosom at the sight—_not jealous not jealous I am not jealous—_Maria averted her gaze, instead turning to see her mistress back on her feet.

_**"HAPPY NEW YEARS!"**_ Saki cheered along with the crowd, oblivious to Maria's growing apprehension.

Maria herself scarcely heard the celebratory exclamations, too engrossed in the slow, gradual progression of her mistress's expression from shock to horror to anger. She felt her throat close up at the sight.

For a moment, it seemed to her like all was still, the tension thick in the air. All she saw was the frozen look of fury and _betrayal_ on her lady's face. Then time began to move once more, and the tension boiled over in a spectacular way.

_"HAYATE YOU DUMMY!"_ Nagi exploded at her soused manservant before turning and running.

And Maria, loyal, faithful Maria, followed after. She was flustered by the situation, and she felt sympathy for all participant parties, but her alliegiance was to Nagi Sanzen'in above all else. Rich or poor, ill or well, she would continue to serve her lady until kingdom come and beyond, through even Judgement Day and the end of all things.

It was just the kind of person she was.

She could only hope that this would all eventually be resolved peacefully, and that everything could return to status quo. But a part of her, a large part of her, knew that things were never so simple, especially not when Hayate "The God of Misfortune" Ayasaki was involved.

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><p><strong>AN: Another sorta melancholy-feeling reaction shot, but the coming ones **_**should**_** be more light-hearted. I've actually plotted out a lot of the reactions and roughly how they'll relate to others. Hell, I've even drawn up a **_**chart**_** in my sketchbook. That said, these first two chapters aren't as interconnected with the rest as certain others are, and as you have seen, not all of them will cover the same time frame. There'll be plenty of slightly-shippy antics in the later ones along with the reactions, though, so you can look forward to that.**

**Provided it doesn't take me another month to get the next one out. *Sweat-drop***

**[This Reaction Shot uploaded, Tuesday, 3/13/2012]**

**TTFN and R&R!**


	3. Chiharu, or It's About Time

**Reaction Shots**

or

**RE: Midnight Kisses**

A _Hayate the Combat Butler _Fanfic

By

EvilFuzzy9

* * *

><p>"A kiss? The renunciation of the heart when it is no longer alone." – Once More, Another Fortune Cookie<p>

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><p><strong>AN: Reading over the first chapter of this, I noticed two things. One, that a couple of sentences seem to have gotten jumbled up. Two, that _holy crap_ that was some impressive prose on my part, near the end. Seriously, how did I even do that...? *Psyduck***

**Content Warning: Once again, references to underage drinking, accidental yuri, and all that good stuff. Standard disclaimers apply, I guess.**

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><p><strong>Chapter the Third, Chiharu<strong>

**(a.k.a., "It's About Time")**

— – - ō ū ¥

Chiharu Harukaze was a serious person. She took nothing lightly, and applied herself fully in all of her pursuits. To those who knew her, she was an advisor and confidante. Few were as perceptive as she, and even fewer were as adept at keeping secrets. Loose lips sank ships after all, and Chiharu was nothing if not prudent.

This, combined with her excellent listening skills and her reputation for discretion, had made her a natural choice for Hinagiku to confide in on many matters.

Chiharu, as both a consummate professional and a close acquaintance of the student council president, knew more about Miss Katsura and her worries than just about anyone. Thusly, she was also one of the very few people who knew of the pink haired prodigy's deep infatuation–some might even say _love_–for a certain young manservant of the Sanzen'in family. Yes, Chiharu knew all the gruesome, sordid details of Hinagiku's personal fantasies regarding the blue-haired Ayasaki boy. She was the student council secretary, confidante and assistant to the president–if there was something bothering Hinagiku, she was one of the first to know.

This included matters of romance, apparently, though why the president would think consult _her_ of all people on such matters was beyond Chiharu. She had no experience with matters of the heart, excepting a few particularly mushy shōjo manga she had read back when she was younger, and she was not about to see if those applied to real life.

Nonetheless, Chiharu was one of the very few in whom Hinagiku had confided regarding her feelings for Hayate, and she had done her best to act as moral support. When Hinagiku was upset and angry over some thoughtless word or action on Hayate's part, Chiharu would often be the one to cool the hot tempered girl back down. Chiharu may not have been quite as stoic as she liked others to believe, but she knew how to defuse a situation–dealing with the deceptively brash and tempermental student council president had given plenty of experience in that area.

Though... actually, now that she thought about it, Hinagiku was no longer quite as tomboyish as she used to be, was she?

Chiharu pursed her lips thoughtfully at this observation as she casually sipped at a glass of punch, watching others mingle. _'I wonder...'_ she thought. Could it be, that Hinagiku's gradual mellowing was in some way related to her crush...? Certainly, it made a good bit of sense on a couple of levels.

Before Hayate, there had been no boys capable of enchanting the student council president, though not for lack of volunteers. Hinagiku may not have been the most... impressive example of femininity among the girls of Hakuō Academy, but nor could she have ever been called unattractive. Her manner may have been an ill fit to the Japanese concept of _yamato nadeshiko_, the ideal woman who was graceful and domestic with just the slightest hint of steel, but she was untouchable, unreachable. An unattainable thing, a brilliant young woman who had no time for silly games or lovesickness, many a lad had been daunted by her casual dismissal. They had nonetheless dared, however, and many more had dreamed of taming that wild, untouchable beauty. But none had ever suceeded. They had all either been too immature, too crass, or simply just unworthy.

Hinagiku had always been driven. She had been through just about the lowest depths of poverty and hunger as a young child, and now that she had the chance to rise above those inglorious beginnings, she was not about to let herself by dragged down, not by anyone. She was determined to do great things with her life, it seemed, and she had no interest in mere boys.

But Hayate... well, even Chiharu had to admit that the infamously unfortunate butler was no mere boy.

Looking over at the young man in question, who was looking rather sloshed as he cheerfully swayed this way and that, Chiharu suppressed a slight shiver. She remembered, with unnerving clarity, the feeling of the drunken Ayasaki's hand gently caressing the small of her back as he almost incoherently asked her if she wanted a dance, or a massage, or maybe even... Her face burned bright crimson.

Hayate was simply drunk, she told herself, he was just acting on impulse without any sort of judgement or restraint. He did not mean–REALLY mean–those things, _those wonderfully tempting things_, that he had whispered to her. He was just saying things without knowing, without understanding, the implications. He did not truly wish to do such things to or with her, and she _definitely_ did not want him to, no sir, the very idea was preposterous! Moreover, Hayate was Hinagiku's man, even if she had not yet claimed him, and Chiharu was NOT about to try and steal him from under the other girl, no no no!

... ... ... And yet... If Hinagiku and Ayumu did not take the chance when it came, as they had all three planned together, Chiharu might very well find herself hard pressed to bring herself to turn down the bluenette lad's offer...

Chiharu shook her head. _'No, no, no, don't think like that!'_ she sternly admonished herself. _'It's not even midnight yet! There's still plenty of time...'_ As a matter of fact, it was barely a minute until midnight, but as she glanced in the pair's direction, Chiharu saw that they **finally** seemed to be taking action. _'Good...'_ she told herself, _'_At_ this rate, they should make it with JUST enough time to spare...'_

Chiharu grimaced ever so slightly. While the idea for the midnight confession had originally been proposed by her, she had devised it under the assumption that Hinagiku and Miss Nishizawa would use the time leading up to midnight to talk to the butler, socializing and schmoozing and flirting. Hayate had a reputation for being incredibly dense, after all, and while a sudden attack like the two seemed to have decided on would definitely have the advantage of surprise and some significant shock value, Chiharu would have preferred them to slowly wear down Hayate's defenses with casual conversation and _then _spring when the clock struck midnight.

Hopefully, this change in tactics would not ruin the plan... She shook her head. Now was not the time to be thinking like that! She needed to keep a level head so that, in case things went to pot, she would be able to at least extract Hinagiku from the situation before things became too terribly awkward. ...with that said, from the look of the way Hinagiku was drunkenly feeling up Hayate's chest as the countdown proceeded, it seemed that the student council president was not likely to feel any sort of awkwardness any time soon... Chiharu shook her head again, this time to clear it of any dirty thoughts. Now was not the time to be thinking like _that_, either!

She was then startled from further berating herself by a loud shout of _**"HAPPY NEW YEARS!"**_

Looking up, she saw that Ayumu and Hinagiku were–somehow–both kissing Hayate at the same time. It was a rather lewd display, and the sound of Yukiji making drunken catcalls and wolf whistles did not help matters any. Chiharu felt terribly awkward, watching the three of them vigorously swapping spit, and part of her was at least a little disappointed that they had ended up going through with it after all, but another part of her was relieved that they were FINALLY going through with it and doing something about all the damnable sexual tension that had been building up. Even if they _were_ doing it in such a... _public_ manner.

Chiharu sincerely hoped that none of them were into exhibitionism, because she REALLY did not need to see anything like that, even if

**BAM**

A door somewhere was slammed shut. Chiharu belatedly realized that someone had yelled something. Quickly scanning the room, she came to the conclusion that it had probably been Na

POW

Someone–her employer, Sakuya Aizawa, she realized in mortification–crashed into her, knocking her off balance and sending her careening into someone else, falling down on top of them. Chiharu, slightly dazed, looked into the surprised eyes of one Izumi Segawa. She felt something pressing against her lips, so she licked at it, trying to pry whatever it was off of her mouth.

After a few seconds of this, it hit her that it was Izumi's lips. She was on top of the Segawa girl, kissing–_french_ kissing–her. Also, it seemed that her hands had somehow found their way onto Izumi's breasts in the confusion of the fall. And, now that she was listening, she heard the laughter and jibes of Miki and Risa.

_Fantastic. _

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><p><strong>AN: Not much to say 'bout this, I guess. One of the first times in a while that I've had trouble thinking of what to put in an author's note. *Shrug***

**[This Reaction Shot uploaded, Saturday, 3/17/2012]**

**TTFN and R&R!**


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